1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication system including an exchange and telephones accommodated in the exchange concerned, and particularly to a communication holding control technique for use in a communication system containing a private branch exchange and a plurality of multifunctional telephones accommodated in the private branch exchange.
2. Description of Related Art
A communication system containing a private branch exchange and a plurality of telephones and multifunctional telephones (telephones having call hold/transfer functions, an abbreviated dialing function, etc.) accommodated in the private branch exchange concerned have been widely popular in working places, etc.
The following procedure has been used in such a conventional communication system in order to hold a calling partner and to transfer a telephone call from the calling partner.
Upon pushing a transfer button of a multifunctional telephone, an exchange cuts off a communication path between the multifunctional telephone and an external telephone and connects both the multifunctional telephone concerned and the external telephone (public line) to a hold tone source to keep the external telephone under communication in a hold state.
When the multifunctional telephone accepts an extension number through a dialing operation, the exchange connects the multifunctional telephone to a ring-back tone source and rings a telephone (extension) specified by the extension number and then waits for a response from the telephone.
Upon receiving the response from the telephone (extension) (that is, when the handset of the telephone is lifted up), the exchange connects the telephone concerned and the multifunctional telephone to each other to establish a communication path therebetween. This state, that is, the state that the present communication partner (public line) is held to make a communication with another communication partner (extension) is hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9ctransfer communicationxe2x80x9d.
In the conventional communication system, it has been impossible to hold a transfer communication partner. That is, only one communication partner under communication can be held for each of the multifunctional telephones accommodated in the private branch exchange. Therefore, the conventional communication system uses the following procedure when a user of the multifunctional telephone holds a communication partner under communication to perform a transfer communication with another communication partner (first transfer communication partner) and then makes a communication with another communication partner (second transfer communication partner) during the transfer communication with the first transfer communication partner.
First, the operator of the multifunctional telephone requests the operator of the first transfer communication partner through the communication channel between the multifunctional telephone and the first transfer communication partner to hang up, whereby the first transfer communication partner is hanged up.
By the hang-up operation of the first transfer communication partner, the multifunctional telephone returns to the communication with the communication partner under hold. The operator of the multifunctional telephone holds the communication partner again, and then dial the extension number of a desired transfer communication partner (second transfer communication partner) to call the transfer communication partner concerned.
The conventional communication system has the following problems because the above procedure is needed when the operator of the multifunctional telephone holds a communication partner to make a transfer communication with a first transfer communication partner and then makes a communication with a second transfer communication partner during the transfer communication with the first transfer communication partner.
(1)Much time is needed for the operation because the user of the first transfer communication partner is requested to hang up.
(2)It is difficult to judge whether the first transfer communication partner is hanged up.
(3)The communication returns to that with the communication partner under hold every time the transfer communication partner is changed (output of a hold tone to the communication partner under hold is stopped), and this causes great confusion.
The present invention has been implemented in view of the foregoing circumstances, and has an object to enable the holding operation of a plurality of communication partners for each of telephones accommodated in an exchange.
In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, a communication system comprises an exchange and a plurality of telephones accommodated in the exchange, wherein each of the telephones includes hold instruction accept means for accepting a hold instruction of an operator and hold releasing instruction accept means for accepting a hold releasing instruction of the operator, and the exchange includes hold control means for holding, in accordance with the hold instruction from the telephone under communication, a communication partner of the telephone concerned hold information registration means for registering in a hold information register area information of the communication partner which is held in accordance with the hold instruction from the telephone, and hold release means for searching, in accordance with a hold release instruction from the telephone which holds the communication partner, information of a communication partner specified by the hold release instruction from the hold information registration area and releasing the hold of the communication partner specified by the searched information, thereby connecting the communication partner to the telephone.
According to the present invention, information of the communication partner under hold is registered in the hold information registration area, and the hold release processing is carried out on the basis of the hold information registration area. As described above, the information of the communication partner under hold is managed in the hold information registration area, so that each telephone accommodated in the exchange can hold a plurality of communication partners. That is, each telephone can communicate with a communication partner while holding another transfer communication partner.
In the present invention, a plurality of common hold buttons may be provided as the hold instruction accept means and the hold release instruction accept means, and there may be provided a plurality of display means each of which is provided in association with each of the common hold buttons, accepts a hold instruction and is turned on when the corresponding common hold button is pushed, and accepts a hold release instruction and is turned off when the corresponding common hold button is pushed during the turn-on state thereof.
In this case, the hold information registration means associates the information of the communication partner held in accordance with the hold instruction from the telephone with the common hold button accepting the hold instruction concerned to register the information in the hold information registration area.
In accordance with the hold release instruction from the telephone, the hold release means searches from the hold information registration area the information corresponding to the common hold button accepting the hold release instruction, and releases the hold of the communication partner specified by the searched information, thereby connecting the communication partner to the telephone.